


Swapped minds

by lutavero



Series: Coldflash Week 2017 A [4]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Bodyswap, Coldflash Week 2017, Coldflash week 2017 a, Family Fluff, Joe is done with everything, M/M, Tumblr: coldflashweek, len is amused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 03:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10607937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutavero/pseuds/lutavero
Summary: Joe and Len get trapped by the Metahuman of the Week.Coldflash Week Day 4: Body swap





	

This is definitely not how Joe West imagined he’d spend his weekend.

He had been looking forward it, after all, it was quite rare he’d take off an entire weekend. The last time he had been able to was when Barry and Iris were 14. And now, both of them were 27. Jeez, where did these years went?

He had planned a nice getaway, far away from Central and the constant worries, up in the mountains in a warm, cozy cabin. Not that if he was needed, Barry wouldn’t get home in a few minutes.

Considering what his little family went through the last year he thought it was time for some family bonding. Just the three of them for two whole days, eating Ester grandma's delicious stake, playing board games and that’s it, just be a family on a hard-earned vacation.

Now, that’s what he imagined for the weekend. And what did he get?

He had been abducted by a metahuman while he was on duty. The icing - he got abducted with Leonard Snart.

The CCPD got an anonymous call in the morning that someone spotted the Meta of the Week in a bank and suddenly, out of the blue, Snart appeared in full gear, claiming he was called too - if Joe wants to be honest, for the first few minutes he was glad he didn’t have to go in alone.

Then everything went to hell. They both got knocked out and when they woke up, they were in an unused - considering the amount of dust and how quiet the place is - storage in the outskirts of Central.

Joe groans aloud, plastic cuff digging into his - well Snart’s wrists.

“Will you stop that?” hisses Snart. “That’s my body you’re damaging right now. The last thing I need is some kind of an infection from these!”

Because fun fact, somehow Joe and Snart swapped bodies. Joe, when he came back to the world of living, he found himself in a freaking parka and so much layers on he’s pretty sure he’s gonna get a heat stroke soon.

Being out of his own body was really weird … to say the least. His body ached in places he didn’t remember he ever got hit, his fingers were cold stiff and he happily ignored the pleasant, numb feeling he felt around and below is abandonment, without thinking about why he was _numb_ in those places.

“Will you shut up, Snart?” Joe hisses back and at least this is familiar, the arguing.

“Ya aren’t my boss, Detective.” groans the criminal before a cocky smirk appears on his face. “Oh, but what a gold mine I just found! Imagine, once we are free I can just walk to the Captain office and got you fired. Or I might drag it out longer and get rid of my Rogues’ criminal record!. Ohh, so many poss-”

  
“Don’t even think about it!” Joe hisses back and tries to free his wrists. Snart kicks him in the knee and Joe groans before he kicks Snart calf and - oh fuck it’s not a good idea, he’s practically hurting himself.

“You are an asshole.” he sneers and Snart just growls and oh, how much Joe wants to choke the guy. He has no idea what Barry sees in him.

“Tell me something new, Detective West.”

Joe takes a deep breath and counts to ten - at least 5 times - before he opens his eyes again and looks around.

“Why don’t we suspend this until we get out from here?”

“Oh, looks like you can use your brain as it's supposed to be used. Until now, I doubted you have one.” sneers Cold and he looks and sounds as Joe and it’s just so disturbing.

“I said shut it! We have to get out before the Meta comes back to check on on us.”

Snart rolls his eyes - Joe’s eyes - and casually tells Joe what he already know or get to know while Joe had his meltdown.

Apparetnly it’s an old plane hangar - similar to the one Snart and Rory hid Caitlin, Joe thinks bitterly - their earpieces are gone, just like their guns and phones. He assumes by the chirp of the birds - _the chirp of the birds, what is he, some kind of a terminator?_ \- that it’s near the river.

“I’d say we have been here for 3 or 4 hours, give or take a little. Barry must’ve run across the city once and probably started his second round an hour ago. Considering the fact how thorough he is, it’ll probably another hour until he finds us. Or just a half, depending on where he started.”

Joe stares at him - well himself, and there’s no point to argue with him and that is the weirdest thing he has ever seen or experienced - and Snart just stares back.

“What?”

“How do you know all of this?” he can’t help but ask, flabbergasted.

“Why shouldn’t I know it?” Snart actaully looks offeneded. “Then how would I be able to finish dinner in time, so when Barry arrives he can eat? Let me tell you, it’s quite the work to cook for a speedster. Luckily, I _am_ a criminal, so the bills aren’t that much of a problem.”

“Why are you acting as if you care? I mean, you caring about Barry’s well-being and not just taking advantage of him is quite impossible to imagine. don’t you say?” Joe asks and gulps when Snart’s eyes just flashes, the anger, oh no, the rage visible on his - Joe's - features.

“You can drag me, my name to the mud, you can call me a bastard and a criminal and a murderer and I won’t deny any of these.” Snart leans closer and Joe stands his ground even though he wants nothing more than to scoot away from the criminal. “But if there’s something I won’t tolerate, it’s you accusing me of not caring about my loved ones, that they just don’t matter to me. That I’m just using them before I gets bored and throws them away. Because Barry does matter to me.”

“You have a funny way of showing it.” Joe snaps back. “I still remember what went down at Ferris Air. How you betrayed us, him, and hurt him! Even though he went to you for help, did what you asked him to do and you just stabbed him in the back!”

“That night you were in the wrong, not me. Imprisonment without trial is just another crime. You, thinking that you were above law was a mistake that I fixed.”

“And let those metas on the loose, exposing the civilians and _Barry_ to their wrath!”

“They are part of my team now. Which means they act as and when I tell them to do something, not when they feel like. We have a moral codex, you know. And my deal with your son still stands.”

“How can you betray him over and over again? Do you even care what he thinks about your ‘Rogues’?” Joe cries back, teeth grinded. “And what will you do when one of your teammate hurts the Flash, huh? Would you let them do it without consequences? And you have any idea how torn he might feel? Trying to be loyal to you and to the law? Do you have the slightes clue how much you’re possibly hurting him? So considering all of these...why do you keep him next to you?”

“You ain’t my boss West. I’m not gonna change who I am. And Barry accepted it already.” the _‘Unlike you’_ stays unsaid.

Both of them falls quiet, listening to the sounds of the outside world. joe takes a deep breath and tries to calm himself. It won’t do anything good for either of them if he’s gonna get so pissed he would just choke the guy who is in his body still. Just great.

“We have a deal, y’know.” says Snart quietly, tone so soft it startles Joe. “That no matter what happenes in the costume, as Cold and Flash, it won’t affect us, Len and Barry. And it’s working.”

Snart takes in a deep breath and Joe watches him - his own face - as a small, but geniue smile appears.

“And we made it work. Well, he made it work.” the other chuckles. “And it’s.. great. I feel alive again, y’know? He’s with me because he wants to be and not because I have money. And no matter what happens on the battlefield, I know we’ll work through it, just like we did with Ferrish Air.”

“And I know, West, that I’m not the best - hell, I’m not good for him in the slightest, but he makes me happy and I hope I make him happy too.”

“Snart-”

“You and your opinion matters to him. It kills him that you won’t accept his choice, that he’s forced to choose between us.”

Snart falls quiet and Joe tries to swallow the lump that appeared in his throath. Hearing this honest, real statement, how Snart respects and supports his son makes want to swallow his pride. But first, he’d have to talk to Barry about this before he'd give his blessing.

“I think that you’re trying to be better is what made him fall in love with you.”

Snart posture goes rigid and Joe wonders if they ever thought about saying _‘I love you’_ to the other. Joe knows Barry and by now he’s pretty sure Barry’s way too deep in this. He just hopes, for his son's sake, that Snart feels the same way.

A loud screech echoes of the walls and Barry’s faint _‘Len? Joe? Are you in here?’_ reaches them.

“Just 25 minutes. I’m impressed.” Snart says, the soft tone gone now, pulling on the facade again.

Then he starts laughing. Joe looks at him in shock.

“You do realize he’ll want to kiss me when he founds us, right?” what on Earth Snart is-

Then it sinks in. He’s still in Snart’s and Snart is still in his body.

But Barry doesn’t know it.

“Oh, Gods.” he groans and Snart laughes again and Joe just hates his life.

**Author's Note:**

> My [Tumblr.](https://lutavero.tumblr.com)  
> Grammar errors and typos are on me!


End file.
